Ring-like device for playing the game of marbles



July 5, 1960 F. w. SLATER 2,943,858

RING-LIKE DEVICE FOR PLAYING THE GAME OF MARBLES Filed Oct. 10, 1957 mvsm'om FRANK W SLATER AITORNEY Un te I a C fFQ Frank W. Slater, Denver, Colo.,- assignor of one-third to :Ralph E. Penney, one-sixthto' Wesley B. Blankenship, -,andi,one-sixth to Royce..E.Blankenship, allofLubhock, Tex.

Filed Oct. 10, 1957, Ser. No. 689,280

2 Claims. (CL273-118) This invention relates to collapsible and foldable apparatus for the playing of the game of marbles and in particular to a ring-like device that may be conveniently used outdoors or indoors on the floor of a home or on a table top in order to shoot the game of marbles and which may be readily folded for storage when not in use.

Prior types of such devices have been rather complicated in structure in the sense that they require a' large amount of space, both for storage and playing operation. On the other hand, the game of marbles is still one of the most popular for youth and as a general rule, due to the lack of ready made courts, children still resort to playing this game on the ground outdoors and in making their own court out of dirt and the like.

Bearing the above in mind, it is the principal object of this invention toprovide a device for playing the game of marbes which is simple in construction and which may be readily set up for use indoors or outdoors, as well as easily folded or collapsed for storage with a minimum of storage space required.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type described including a circular base having a ring-like retaining wall at its periphery and a marble court attached to the top surface of the base and of a size to define with the retaining wall a shooting area.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a device for playing the game of marbles which is inexpensive to manufacture and which is made of material that permits the device to be rolled up and stored with ease.

Yet another object is to provide a device as described wherein the retaining wall is in the form of a tube adapted to be inflated by passing through a stern of valve means connected with the tube, and further wherein there is provided in the shooting space partitions in the form of hollow portions adapted to be inflated for the purpose of dividing the shooting area into a plurality of compartments for collecting marbles.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon considering the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawing wherein the preferred embodiment is illustrated and wherein:

Figure l is a plan view of the ring-like device of this invention; and

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2--2 of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings in detail, there is illustrated a ring-like device generally represented by the numeral 1 for playing the game of marbles. Device 1 includes a circular flat base 2 preferably having a 65-inch diameter and preferably made of a suitable plastic that retains a flat shape when extended, but which is of the type that may be rolled up or folded. At its periphery base 2 terminates in a raised portion 3 which, as illustrated,

' is in the form of a hollow tube 4 of similar plastic material and, as will be apparent hereinafter, this tube forms a retaining wall for the marbles whereby they cannot be .2 scattered all over the area adjacent to where the game is played. Bonded to the top surface 5 of the base 2 is a circular piece of material 6 that preferably is of a diameter of 48 inches and which .forms the marble court. Element 6 may be a piece of felt or sponge rubber suitably bonded to base 5 or it may be. formed byspraying plastic by means well known in the plastic'art, the only limitation being that the material of element 6 must not interfere with the rolling up or folding feature emphasized. In any event, court 6 is to provide a slightly raised portion with respect to portion 2, although such is not nearly as raised as the retaining wall 4 and it will be noted that court 6 is positioned on base 2 in concentric and spaced relation to the raised portion 3 to form on base 2 an annular marble shooting area 7.

Integrally secured on area 7 and between raised por' tion 6 and retaining wall 3 are two or more partitions 8 for .the purpose of dividing annulus 7 into a plurality of compartments and, as shown, partitions .8 are in the form of hollow portions communicating with tube 4.. Extending exteriorly of tube -4 is a valve including ele-- ment 10 and stem 9 which communicates-with the interior of tube 4 and which maybe readily connected with an air supply or blown up to' provide air within tube 4 and portions 8 so that the tube 4 and portions 8 will assume the shape illustrated in the drawing. When this is done stem 9 may be inserted within the aluminum tube 10 extending from tube 3 to provide the necessary seal through a tight friction fit and maintain tube 3 and portions 8 inflated.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the ring-like device illustrated for playing marbles may be readily used outdoors or indoors on the floor of a home or on a table top. In playing, the shooter operates within area 7 to strike marbles positioned on the court 6, all in the usual manner, and the compartments formed between portions 8 may be utilized to make the game more challenging to the extent that the marbles hit therein may count for extra points. After the children are through playing with this device, it is only necessary to move stem 9 to the dotted line position wherein tube 3 and portions 8 may be deflated. Due to the material utilized in constructing the device, it may then be folded or rolled up for storage and it will be obvious that such requires very little space to store.

From the foregoing detailed description it is apparent that the objects and advantages set forth will become achieved and it is to be understood that the invention is only to be limited in scope in accordance with the appended claims as various modifications, such as shape, may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A collapsible device adapted for use in playing the game of marbles, comprising a flat base portion, a raised inflatable portion secured to said base at the periphery thereof and being of a size when inflated to act as a retaining wall for marbles, a generally circular marble court mounted on the top surface of said base portion in spaced relation to said raised portion to define a marble shooting area between said court and said raised portion, and a plurality of inflatable partitions communicating with the interior of said raised portion at spaced locations therealong so as to divide said shooting area into a number of compartments.

2. A collapsible ring-like device adapted for use in playing the game of marbles comprising a generally circular base area provided with a flat top surface, a generally oval shaped raised portion integrally secured at its lower edge to said base throughout the periphery thereof and being inflatable to act as a retaining Wall 'f qr i a -bles, :a .cirelrhr marble court composed of ,a

rnbbenlike material branded (to me 19p suriece 9i. seisl base in inner concentric spaced relation to said raisedportionwith an annular n1arble shooting area being .ftmnedibemeen saidsonn; and said raisedl1 o1$ien,..:e

court, ski-idpartitions eaeli be'ing .Kdefined by 21 hollow inflatfible -por1ion oommimicating ith'fhe interior of said portion and reony'ergingiinwardly theref rom' into tengrinaion aethe edge bf ngrble eoii rkand com:

" rnon valve means to provide for "simulteneoiis" inflation end gleflatign of sais raised pOfiiDJl'fiQfi Par t ons;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDHSVTAVTES PrkTENTSV V p I V Jan. 2,190.0 r

Smyth 7 Slemmer D w y Wright .etnl. 

